Page 141 - A Little Bush Maid

"Yesterday," Norah added.

"Then you must be lonely," the old blacksmith said, taking Norah’s small
brown hand, and holding it for a moment in his horny fist very much as if

he feared it were an eggshell, and not to be dropped. "Master Jim’s growing
a big fellow, too--goin’ to be as big a man as his father, T believe. Well,
good-bye, missy, and don’t forget to come in next time you’re in the

township."

There was nothing further to detain them in Cunjee, and very soon the
ponies were fetched from the stables, and they were bowling out along the
smooth metal road that wound its way across the plain, and Norah was

mingling excited little outbursts of delight over her father’s return with
frequent searches into a big bag of sweets which Mrs. Brown had

thoughtfully placed on the seat of the buggy.

"T don’t know why Blake wanted to go telling you about that nasty

murderer," Mrs. Brown said. They were ten miles from Cunjee, and the
metal road had given place to a bush track, in very fair order.

"Why not?" asked Norah, with the carelessness of twelve years.

"Well, tales of murders aren’t the things for young ladies’ ears," Mrs. Brown
said primly. "Your Pa never tells you such things. The paper’s been full of

this murder, but T would ’a’ scorned to talk to you about it."

"T don’t think Blake meant any harm," said Norah. "He didn’t say so very

much. T don’t suppose he’d have mentioned it, only that Mr. Harris is
supposed to have come our way, and even that doesn’t seem certain."

"’Arris ’as baffled the police," said Mrs. Brown, with the solemn pride felt
by so many at the worsting of the guardians of the law. "They don’t reely

know anythink about his movements, that’s my belief. Why, it’s weeks
since he was seen. This yarn about his comin’ this way is on’y got up to ’ide

the fact that they don’t know a thing about it. T don’t b’lieve he’s anywhere
within coo-ee of our place. Might be out of the country now, for all